Cars that run on sun and not petrol still seem fantastical, even in 2016: They're expensive and slow to make, and seem stuck in university science experiment limbo. But a new remake of designer Henrik Fisker's ill-fated 2011 petrol-electric sedan — this time, with a solar-powered roof — could be the boost that daylight-slurping vehicles need.

BILL SCANNELL FELL DOWN A RABBIT HOLE. All he wanted was to disable a device in his car: An always-on, net-connected “helper” that provides the car’s driver with app connections, turn-by-turn navigation, and roadside assistance… at the expense of personal driving data. Similar devices track how fast you’re going, how hard you ride the brakes, even your final destination. And all that info gets sent back to the manufacturer. Scannell wanted out. Unfortunately, it was easier said than done.

Selfridges, for the uninitiated, is a century-old, upper-crusty British department store (founded by an American expat; go figure). Its home base is a many-columned palace on Oxford Street in London, famous for its window displays and a foie-gras-related spat with topless animal-rights activists.